


Project S.T.E.V.E. Time Stamp - Electric Sleep

by ivycross



Series: Project S.T.E.V.E [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Robot Steve McGarret, Robot/Human Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 16:23:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivycross/pseuds/ivycross
Summary: Steve doesn't like to go into hibernate mode.





	Project S.T.E.V.E. Time Stamp - Electric Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> A little time stamp for this AU. It doesn't really take place at any particular point. Not beta read.

The house is mostly silent with only the waves outside crashing on the beach and Danny's soft snoring breaking through the quiet stillness. Steve sits in a chair in a corner of the master bedroom, fully dressed in a t-shirt and cargo pants. He doesn't sleep, though he has a hibernation setting, but he doesn't like it. While he is still aware of himself in that state, he feels disconnected. It’s the time he can sort through his memory, copy files, process new information into its new file directories. Only sometimes, the things he sees as the files copy and filter are not things that he recognizes as things that have happened.

He should tell Danny or someone, but it scares him for lack of better word. He often gets the impression that there is something wrong with him. He was built to be a soldier, then altered to be a companion. Both exist equally in his circuits and then there is something else too. No one knows what it is and Steve doesn’t want to press his luck.

He asks Danny not to place him in hibernation. Some nights he begs. He tries to prove that he's better off staying up and running as normal, while the human sleeps. He can clean. He can watch over the house. Anything at all.

Most nights Danny agrees. He can see how much the idea upsets Steve. But Steve still needs to charge and Max has stressed how important is it for Steve be at least hibernating for that, if not shut down. So he doesn't overheat his circuits and to make the charging process more efficient. Steve refuses to be shut down, so he takes his place in the room and goes under while Danny plugs him in.

He's supposed to do that this night, but he only made Danny think that. He's very much aware of everything, and he doesn't have to be subject to his processors sorting through his memory banks. He doesn't have to see those files and data that don't make sense to him.

On the bed, Danny shifts and snorts. Steve accesses the clock inside him. It's four in the morning. Danny doesn't sleep through the whole night. Instead, he stays up late and wakes too soon. Steve worries about him and he spends time looking up things that will help the man. He wants Danny to be happy and healthy. He gives him Chamomile tea and plays ambient sounds to help Danny relax. So far nothing is working.

Sure enough, Danny rolls over and opens his eyes. “You watching me sleep again?”

“Yes.”

“I wish you wouldn't.”

Steve isn't sure what to say to that. He settles for, “I know but what else would I do?”

They've had this conversation before many times and Danny looks at him tired and obviously not wanting to repeat it.

“Fine,” Danny says and sits up in the bed. He looks at Steve, his elbows resting on his knees. “Steve, Babe. You supposed to be asleep.”

“So are you,” Steve counters.

Danny sighs. It's a long drawn out sound. Steve doesn’t like it. He feels like he's done something wrong when Danny makes that sound. Danny pushes the covers off him as he gets up and shuffles over toward Steve's chair.

“We’ve talked about this. You need to shut down sometimes. It's not good for you to be on all the time.”

Steve shifts in his chair. “I know, but...” He clamps his mouth shut, scared to say more. Danny peers at him, his blue eyes dim in the groom. He's frowning as his brow wrinkles. Concern. Danny's worried about him. Steve doesn’t like that. Danny shouldn’t worry about him. He should be fine and not cause the other discomfort. He's there for Danny, not the other way around.

“Babe, what's wrong?" Danny asks.

Steve doesn't look at him. He doesn’t want to talk about it. It's too upsetting and he's not sure if the other would understand anyway.

“Steve,” Danny pokes at him. “It's too early for this shit. Just tell me what's going on in that head of yours.”

“I'm fine,” Steve says. He works to fix his tone, his cadence so that Danny will believe him. For a moment, he thinks it works because Danny shakes his head and walks away. He turns on a lamp and sits down on the bed.

Then Danny pats the bed next to him. “Come on. Unplug from the wall and let's talk.”

At first, Steve doesn't move at all, his robotic body stilling completely. But Danny looks at him again, that same concerned look on his face and Steve removes his plug from the charging port in his side, letting it drop to the floor, before moving to the bed.

He sits next to Danny, his hands clasped together in between his legs. Danny places a hand on his arm and rubs at the synthetic skin.

“Steve, why do you not want to hibernate? I know you don't want to shut down fully and I'm okay with that. Even Max said it was okay as long as you hibernated regularly. But need downtime, Babe, or you'll corrupt your memory banks.”

Steve works his jaw, staring straight ahead. “I think they are already corrupted.”

Danny’s shoulders straighten, his frown deepening. “What? But Max just checked you over. He said they were fine.”

“Then... There's something wrong with me,” Steve says, still staring at the wall.

“Why do you say that? Huh? There's nothing wrong you. Other than you drive me a little crazy, but that's just you. How you're programmed and I still like you. Gracie adores you.”

Steve turns, looking at Danny. The man is giving him a warm friendly smile. It causes something inside Steve to whirl to life and a heat spreads through him. He smiles back.

“I like you and Gracie too, Danny,” He says.

Danny grins and laughs, reaching out to play with Steve's hair. “Good. Now come on. You need to hibernate. Just a for a while.”

The smile slips off Steve's face and he sits there sulking. Danny lets out another long drawn out sigh and runs his fingers through Steve's hair. It feels nice and Steve has an idea.

“Will you stay with me?”

“Yeah. If that will help, I can do that.”

Steve smiles again as Danny moves over in the bed making room for Steve to slide in next to him. Steve strips down his underwear and crawls into the bed, curling around Danny's compact form. Danny's hand goes back to his hair, and Steve feels calm. He shuts his eyes and nuzzles Danny's chest. He runs the program to start his hibernation state. It counts down inside him before beginning. One by one, his components slow down, some turning off completely until it's just his processor, drives, and memory banks running.

Memories start flying by as banks sort through them, filing them away in his backup image. He waits for the ones that he doesn’t recognize, the ones that frighten him, but this night, they don't come. It seems like most of his memory files are of Danny. The man's different smiles, the way he laughs, that pinched look he gets on his face when he's mad and trying not to yell.

Steve welcomes them all and, at least for this night, Steve hibernates peacefully.


End file.
